


Stolen Moments and Pie

by downriversandroads



Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post- Chuck Versus the Goodbye, Post-Finale, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 09:26:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5580234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downriversandroads/pseuds/downriversandroads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set four years after the series finale: Sarah makes Thanksgiving dinner for the whole extended family, and gets flustered (by her standards) and it ends in some Charah fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stolen Moments and Pie

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place four years AFTER the series finale, so spoilers for, well, the whole series.
> 
> Also, a big shoutout to my best friend for reading this and making sure it was good <3
> 
> Based on this prompt: http://fyotpprompts.tumblr.com/post/134031109435/imagine-your-otp-eating-pie-underneath-the-dining

Sarah Walker rarely breaks a sweat, so when she does, it’s serious business. But this time it isn’t being surrounded by people with guns or jumping out of a plane that has her sweating. No, on this particular day, Thanksgiving is causing Sarah so much stress. In less than two hours, the turkey needs to be ready, the dressing needs to be prepared, the sweet potatoes with marshmallows need to be on the table, said table needs to be set, and the house needs to be in perfect order.

Although Sarah’s dream home, in which she and Chuck live, is large enough that small messes don’t amount to much, Levi, their one-year-old son, has made what Sarah guesses to be forty-two messes, most of which are in the living room, dining room, and kitchen; coincidentally, those are the rooms through which the extended family will be trampling in about two hours. In addition to all the mess, she’s trying to get Thanksgiving perfectly right, because she asked to cook everything this year instead of Chuck. (In hindsight, maybe that wasn’t her best idea.) So she’s prepared turkey after turkey after turkey for the past twenty-four hours to make sure the final turkey will be perfect.

Since Sarah has a bit of a rocky history with Christmas, when the Woodcombs moved, Sarah and Chuck and Ellie and Devon decided that the Bartowskis should host Thanksgivings at their house in Burbank, and the Woodcombs should have everyone over for Christmases in Chicago. Thanksgiving finally rolled around, so Ellie, Devon, and Clara’s plane is arriving this afternoon. Unfortunately, the veteran Thanksgiving hosts could not make it early to help, because Clara had a ballet recital inconveniently scheduled this morning. Thankfully, Morgan, Alex, and Casey are driving over in an hour to help make finishing touches on everything. Even Mary Bartowski, Diane Beckman, Emma, and Molly are joining them for the Thanksgiving meal. A newfound burst of panic sets in once Sarah remembers that this will be the first time she’s spent a holiday with her mom in… God knows how long.

But the help coming over in- Sarah checks her watch- forty-five minutes doesn’t make the present task any less daunting. Chuck is watching Levi in their bedroom, so she doesn’t need to worry about him, but she does, in the back of her mind, anyway. Sarah shakes her head, trying to focus herself, which normally isn’t a problem, but she’s so overwhelmed with unfamiliar tasks that she’s been distracted all day. She darts across the house, sticks her head in the door of their room, and chirps, “Sweetie, can you set the table and tidy up the house?” She jogs back to the kitchen, barely processing Chuck’s “Of course” that floats through their home before she’s made it back to the kitchen.

The turkey is in the oven and should be ready about a half an hour after the Awesomes get here, unfortunately, but Sarah can’t do anything to speed up the cooking of the turkey, so she crosses it and the setting of the table off her check list on the fridge; the notepad is pinned under a magnet depicting the Eiffel Tower. She can hear the low din of Chuck’s comforting, playful voice contrasting with Levi’s high-pitched, overexcited outbursts in the dining room.

She hears the chime of her cell phone, slides the phone out of her jeans pocket, and views the text that popped up on the screen. It’s from Morgan: “Hey, you have the ingredients for me to make the sweet potatoes with marshmallows, right? See you soon! XOXO.” Sarah’s lips immediately quirk upwards, forming one of her signature smiles, the one that’s so innate that she doesn’t even realize she’s smiling. She stands on her tiptoes, her bare feet squeaking on the aluminum tile covering the kitchen floor, and peeks inside the highest cupboard covered with pictures from family vacations and missions, spotting both the giant bag of marshmallows and the sack of yams. Sarah’s feet slap the floor as she relaxes her leg muscles and lowers her heels. Her thumbs tap across her phone screen, forming the reply, “Yep. Can’t wait to see you in… T minus 30 mins. Yikes. Mwah!”

Looking at the next item on her check list, she sighs, reading, “Prepare the dressing.” Sarah pulls up the recipe she’s saved on her phone. Having already read the recipe, she had guessed before that the dressing will be her least favorite dish to make. She now skims the instructions again to refresh her memory.

*****

Half an hour later, a slightly less tidy, noticeably more frazzled Sarah Walker turns away from the oven, victorious, having conquered the dressing, which is baking in the oven. She takes an appraising sniff of the various food aromas wafting through the house and feels satisfied. At least nothing is burning… yet.

Sarah suddenly hears Levi’s anticipatory squeals, so she gathers that Casey, Alex, and Morgan have arrived. As she walks out of the hot kitchen and into the cooler living room, she sees her husband, outfitted with a papoose with Levi inside it on his chest, jogging slowly towards the door. The Bartowskis can hear the cheerful chatter of the Casey-Grimes-McHugh clan through the door, and then Morgan and Alex walk in, their shoulders pressed together and their fingers intertwined, and Casey enters behind them, arms stiffly swinging at his sides.

Morgan ruffles Levi’s three tufts of hair and gives him a classic Morgan Grimes grin. When Morgan moves on to hug Chuck and Sarah at once, Alex and Casey wave at Levi, whose humorously wide eyes are peeking out from inside the adults’ group hug. Morgan’s the first to leave the embrace, as he says, “I need to make the sweet potatoes and marshmallows before the rest of the family gets here. I mean, I am making the most important side dish, so I better get crackin’.”

Once hugs have been shared all around, even by Casey, Sarah wraps her arm around Morgan’s shoulders, tugging him into the kitchen. As Alex, Casey, and Chuck watch the two friends disappear into the homey kitchen, they can hear their conversation and laughter begin.

“Well, while they’re making the last dish, we can sit and chat. I haven’t seen you two in ages,” Chuck deadpans, collapsing (carefully, since Levi’s attached to him) into one of the gaming chairs that Sarah ended up getting Chuck, despite her personal dislike of them. Casey grunts, but smirks and raises his eyebrows a little, and sits down across from his friend. Alex just smiles easily, pulling a chair up next to her dad.

*****

An hour flies by as banter flows easily in the living room and kitchen. Sarah and Morgan have prepared the “most important dish” without a single mishap, because Ellie taught Morgan how to make it a couple of years ago. Everyone hears a light knock followed by the opening of the red wooden door, and a cascade of people spills in, since the Awesomes, Mary, and Diane carpooled from the airport. Hugs and warm greetings are exchanged all around, and everyone coos over how much Clara has grown. (“You must be 15 by now; you’re so big!” “I’m five, Aunt Sarah!”) Ten minutes later, Emma and Molly also come in the door, having driven from their house.

The gang funnels into the dining room, bumping knees and elbows as they crowd around the wooden table, which is adorned with candles and mini pumpkins, gourds, and pretty leaves they’ve found on their walks. Chuck and Sarah bring in the food, and everyone starts passing the different dishes around.

*****

Two hours later, everyone is still gathered around the dining room table, having eaten and played some games, but all still mellowed by the feast. Except Molly and Clara seem unfazed, so they are racing around with the Star Wars collectibles that have been passed down to them; Chuck and Morgan’s winces, fingers turning white and gripped tightly on the arms of their chairs, and pleading warnings of “Be careful” are lost on the kids.

Sarah is exhausted, having been awake for forty-eight hours trying to make the best impression she can. But looking around at the festive chaos clashing with the content murmur, Sarah stands up a little straighter, raising her chin slightly, her mouth forming a small, cute smirk. While everyone is distracted by Molly and Clara’s antics, she discretely slips under the table to sit in peace. While enjoyable, Bartowski family get-togethers are always hectic.

A mere minute later, Chuck manages to crouch underneath the table and sit with his wife, his back resting against a table leg, and his legs splayed such that Sarah is able to lean back and rest her head on his warm chest. She sighs, “How do you think the dinner went?”

“Well, I think it was perfect.”

Sarah twists around and says, “Do you really think so, because I thought the turkey was a little overdone and the dishes didn’t look as clean as they did when I inspected them at 4 in the morning and-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Babe, you’re spiraling.” Chuck gently twists Sarah around and coaxes her backwards so that she’s relaxed against him again. With his chin resting on her head and his fingers playing with hers, he says, “The turkey was so good that I can tell that even my perfectionist sister genuinely approved and I could see my reflection in every single one of the dishes. You are kickass and so was the dinner.”

Chuck massages her shoulders and closes his eyes, feeling Sarah’s body relax into his, a relaxed sigh escaping from her lips. His eyes flutter open when he feels Sarah’s lips pressed firmly against his, her hands cupping his face. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her right up against him, enjoying the stolen moment.

The next second, both adults leap away from each other, startled when they see a bearded face appear next to them, followed by two girls and a sniper. The entourage crawls under the table and Morgan says, “I come bearing pie for the hero of Thanksgiving, our one and only Sarah Walker.” He hands her the plate of pumpkin pie with a flourish and then settles down, unfazed by the fact that he interrupted the couple’s makeout session. Sarah thanks him and takes a bite, then places the fork, loaded with pie, into Chuck’s mouth, so he can have a taste, too. He hums in approval, nodding and doing the famous Bartowski eyebrow dance.

Sarah asks, “Why did all four of you come down here? I’d say this was a one-person mission.”

Casey grunts, “What? We’re both watching the kids. Plus, I wanted to hide from the scary adults, too.”


End file.
